School committee member and one-time Barnstable superintendent Tom McDonald offered a vision of what he doesn’t want to happen as a result of current and future budget problems.
\School committee member and one-time Barnstable superintendent Tom McDonald offered a vision of what he doesn’t want to happen as a result of current and future budget problems.

He said he watched what happened to the towns of Yarmouth and Dennis as they fought over funding for the regional school district they share. “I don’t ever want to reach a point where it’s municipal versus schools,” he said.

We agree with him, but don’t believe it’s entirely avoidable.

Such a split is natural and understandable. While school and municipal employees are both paid by the same taxpayers, they operate in different work cultures.

By and large, school employees have a singular purpose: to educate. Municipal employees have a singular goal of providing the best service available, but what they do is amazingly diverse. Both also answer to different decision-makers.

Under the circumstances, coming together as one town will remain difficult, especially when the pain of budget cuts is likely to be felt disproportionately.

That’s not to say that it’s a futile effort, but understanding that it will take more than simple exhortations of working together to bridge this gap will make it easier when disagreements persist.

Barnstable’s history has some spicy episodes between the municipal and school operations, including the immediate response and subsequent fallout from a $2.6 million shortfall in 1996.

There’s been substantial progress since then, to include a merger of town and school financial operations unique in the state.

Wednesday night, Town Manager John Klimm correctly pointed out that the Band-Aids used in the past are inadequate to the task this time out. Absent an improbable infusion of state aid and an even more improbable override in support of operations, cuts are inevitable.

An answer, though not likely the answer, could be found in an initiative from the governor.

With fewer resources, Gov. Deval Patrick is promoting the idea of Home Rule. According to a statement released Oct. 31, Patrick will re-file and expand on legislation that provides greater autonomy for local governments.

Barnstable has a deep tradition of Home Rule advocacy and envelope pushing, a direct reflection of the late Town Attorney Bob Smith’s deep-held belief that Home Rule provided communities not just the opportunity, but the right, to self governance.

Historically, the Legislature has been good at crafting money-raising schemes that put it in control of distribution. The lottery is a good example. The Legislature has long resisted allowing local governments to exercise any authority of funds created outside of traditional property taxes and fees for service. The precious few local-option taxes allowed for communities come only after the state has exacted its pound of flesh from the scheme.

How far such legislation will go, and whether it will find support in the Legislature, remains to be seen. In the meantime, Barnstable remains deeply at risk for school and municipal operations.

DS II

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